I Became The Guardian Of The Future Villain

“Wow, it’s huge.”

 

“Your Highness, your hands are getting dirty.”

 

As they ventured deeper into the mine, it became clear that the inside was even more disorganized than the outside, with tools and half-moved carts scattered around. It looked like work had been forcibly halted.

 

Well, they couldn’t help it since they weren’t getting paid.

 

‘He looks kind of disappointed.’

 

An old miner who had spent his entire life in the mines stared longingly at a pickaxe lying on the ground.

 

Hestia passed him by and eventually reached the final excavation site. Picking up a stone from the ground, she glanced at Gus.

 

“How long have they been mining here?”

 

“About nine years.”

 

“Nine years, huh? So most of the resources should be depleted by now. I’ve heard smaller mines like this don’t last more than ten years.”

 

“Ten years? No way. A mine this size could last twenty years easily.”

 

Gus clicked his tongue, clearly displeased. Seeing his reaction, Hestia smirked.

 

“Twenty years? From what I’ve heard, there wasn’t a single gemstone found in the last month before the work stopped.”

 

Gus flinched.

 

“For the past year, the number of gemstones mined has been steadily decreasing, and the operation’s been running at a loss. Am I wrong?”

 

“…You’ve done your homework. You’re not just some kid, I see.”

 

“Well…”

 

“Mind your words. She’s the Duke of Winston’s guardian.”

 

Before Hestia could respond, someone stepped in front of Gus.

 

It was Lloyd.

 

‘What’s gotten into him?’

 

Surprised by the unexpected situation, Hestia blinked her eyes in disbelief.

 

Gus, a bit thrown off by Lloyd’s size for a second, quickly snapped back to his usual tough self.

 

“What does it matter to you what I say?”

 

“It’s my duty to protect the guardian and His Highness. Please refrain from making remarks that might cause misunderstandings.”

 

Hestia had asked Lloyd to accompany her as a bodyguard today, expecting him to be somewhat reluctant. But to her surprise, he was doing his job quite well.

 

Honestly, she didn’t like bodyguards who immediately resorted to threats and drew their swords, but…

 

‘He knows how to handle things without using force. Not bad.’

 

Hestia raised her opinion of Lloyd even higher.

 

“It’s fine. Go ahead, Gus, tell me why you have so much faith in this mine.”

 

Gus, still glaring at Lloyd, finally snorted and looked at the pickaxe lodged in the wall.

 

“There’s an old legend.”

 

“A legend?”

 

“Yeah, a story passed down among the miners.”

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

Once upon a time, there was a child with a special ability.

 

The child could turn their tears into gemstones.

 

The gemstones created from his tears were so valuable that they were priceless.

 

Using this ability, the child lifted his family out of poverty.

 

Not only did he save his family, but he also amassed great wealth.

 

The child’s parents cherished him like a treasure, giving him all their love.

 

The child was overjoyed, knowing he was helping their parents.

 

But as the family’s circumstances improved, the child no longer had any reason to cry.

 

Many people wanted more gemstones, but none were produced.

 

The parents demanded the child create more, but without tears, there were no gemstones.

 

In desperation, they began to hurt the child.

 

The child cried, and a gemstone bigger and more beautiful than any before was born.

 

The child’s wounds grew, and every day, he was forced to cry.

 

The sadder the child became, the richer the family grew. His parents’ faces never lost their smiles.

 

The child eventually realized his parents no longer saw him as a child but as a gemstone factory.

 

In despair, the child fled into the forest, shedding tears of hopelessness, and hid where no one could ever find him.

 

By the time the parents realized how precious the child was, it was too late.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

After hearing the story, Leonhard clung to Hestia’s waist.

 

“That’s so sad…”

 

“No one knows which mountain the child hid in, but the miners always say there’s a place filled with gemstones somewhere out there.”

 

“And you think this mine is that place, don’t you?”

 

“I’ve been a miner for over 40 years. I’ve worked in many mines, but none had gemstones as pure or as plentiful as this one.”

 

“But compared to other mines, this one is a bit smaller, isn’t it? And it’s surrounded by a forest.”

 

“What did the legend say?”

 

“The child ran into the forest to hide!”

 

Gus nodded at Leonhard’s enthusiastic response.

 

“Most mines don’t have forests around them, but this one is unique in that it’s surrounded by greenery. And this mine was discovered not too long ago by Baron Sears.”

 

Based on several clues, Gus was convinced that this was the legendary mine where the “Tears of Gemstones” were hidden.

 

“This is my last mine. I want to believe that the Tears of Gemstones are buried here.”

 

Gus looked at the pickaxe with a wistful expression in his eyes.

 

In her previous life, it was Gus who had unearthed a new type of gemstone in this mine.

 

Hestia wasn’t sure how he had convinced the new owner of the mine, but judging by his determination, it was clear he’d never given up on it.

 

“Well, that’s quite a story. But it’s just a legend miners pass down. You should take it with a grain of salt.”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

Gus raised an eyebrow.

 

“Most legends are based on some truth. There could still be hidden gemstones here.”

 

“…You actually believe in the legend?”

 

“Why not?”

 

Gus suddenly recalled all the people who had laughed at him.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

“What? A legend? You’re not seriously chasing after some childish fairy tale, are you?”

 

“Following an old legend at your age? You’re more of a romantic than I thought.”

 

“Dad, are you still talking about that old story? It’s time to think about retiring from mining.”

 

“It’s my mine. I’ll sell it if I want. Now stop wasting time and get back to work, or I’ll cut your pay!”

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

No one had ever taken him seriously.

 

‘But this girl…’

 

She wasn’t just humoring him. Her eyes were sincere. Gus swallowed hard without even realizing it.

 

For some reason, he felt like she might actually listen to his plea.

 

“You said you were thinking of buying the mine?”

 

“I’m considering it.”

 

“Buy it. I promise you won’t regret it.”

 

Seeing Gus’s confident smile, Hestia smiled back.

 

“I’ll see you again soon. Be ready.”

 

As the knights who had followed Hestia inside emerged, they glanced at Gus and Hestia, who seemed to have grown quite close.

 

“Are you really going to buy this mine?”

 

“Seems like a bluff to me.”

 

“I just hope we don’t bankrupt the duchy.”

 

“This won’t bankrupt us. There might be a few issues, though. And it’s not like I’m the kind of guardian who makes decisions without thinking.”

 

“She must have some other motive to want to buy this empty mine.”

 

“Huh?”

 

The knights turned to look at the one mumbling from the back.

 

“I’m telling you, she’s up to something. Why else would she buy an empty mine?”

 

“No way.”

 

“Well, he’s not entirely wrong…”

 

The knights, who had been skeptical, began to waver. Just as the man was about to continue criticizing Hestia, someone interrupted him.

 

“We’re heading back to the estate. Stop gossiping.”

 

“S-sorry!”

 

Lloyd appeared and scolded them, shutting down the conversation. But the damage was already done.

 

The seeds of doubt had been planted.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

Leonhard, covered in dust after playing around in the mine, had fallen fast asleep.

 

It was late evening by the time they finally arrived back at the estate.

 

“You all did well today. Get some rest. Lloyd, stay for a moment.”

 

Lloyd, holding the sleeping Leonhard, turned to look at Hestia.

 

While the two were talking, the other knights dispersed.

 

“Ugh, I’m so tired.”

 

“I’ve got the day off tomorrow. Wanna grab a drink together?”

 

“Oh, that sounds great. Hey, Randol, you… huh? Where did he go?”

 

“He took off right after saying goodbye, didn’t he?”

 

“Really? Must’ve had something urgent. Well, let’s just go without him.”

 

As the knights walked off to enjoy their rare break, the man called Randol quietly moved through the shadows. Avoiding crowded areas, he finally reached a secluded spot and slipped inside.

 

“I’ve just returned.”

 

His posture was even stiffer than when addressing Hestia. Two men were waiting inside.

 

“So, I bet you’ve got some good info for us, huh?”

 

One of them was Hubert, the captain of the knights.

 

“Tell us everything you saw and heard today, no matter how small.”

 

The other man was Albert.

 

“Yes, sir. I’m sure you’ll both be quite pleased with what I’ve brought.”

 

Randol smirked confidently and started to report the day’s events. Once he finished, Hubert slammed his fist on the table with a broad grin, baring his teeth.

 

“I knew it!”

 

“Everything lines up now.”

 

“I couldn’t stand her from the start! Let’s lock that woman up right now!”

 

“Hold on, calm down.”

 

“How can I calm down?! That woman is about to bring down the precious Winston family!”

 

Albert had to stifle a chuckle from slipping out.

 

‘Precious,’ my foot.’

 

Even when the Duke was still alive, Hubert had been embezzling funds from the knight’s order and abusing his position for personal gain. There was no loyalty to Winston in him. To Hubert, being a Winston knight was just a tool to elevate his own status.

 

‘Well, his greed makes him useful to me.’

 

“There’s no point in arresting her without a reason. No one would buy it. Worse, we’d just give her a way out. We need solid evidence and a clear motive.”

 

“But we already have those documents you found and this guy’s testimony. Finding more would take time, wouldn’t it?”

 

“No, claiming embezzlement with just this won’t be enough. We need undeniable proof. And… who said we had to ‘find’ the evidence?”

 

Hubert raised an eyebrow, and Albert grinned wickedly.

 

“If we don’t have proof, we’ll just ‘create’ it.”

 

“Haha…! Albert, I didn’t know you had such a dangerous side!”

 

“I only do what’s best for the Winston family.”

 

“Exactly! We need to pull those weeds out before they ruin everything.”

 

“Give me one day. I’ll have the evidence by then.”

 

“Alright, then I’ll prepare to cut those weeds down. I’ll make sure to inform our friend too.”

 

The two men exchanged a devious look, their eyes glinting with malice.